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Jongudmund

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  1. Jongudmund
    This is my fourth post about the Lego passenger train sets (set number 60197) that I received for Christmas. Post one was about building the train set. Post 2 was about adding lights. Post 3 was about building a dummy engine car. And this post continues the theme from post 3, modding the train set to make it suit my purpose.
     
    I often say that if you can't make any changes to a Lego set you've built to improve it, then you may as well give up on Lego as a hobby. I see a lot of photos and videos of creative track lay outs, and then Lego trains straight out of the box trundling around. It's a shame, really. Personally, if I take, as an example, all the freight wagons I have bought, it averages about one wagon per set that I don't change or adapt. So that's about 1 in 3 wagons that I consider 'okay' and ready to run. (Of course, this doesn't apply to collectible stuff - I wouldn't mod my TTX cars, although I do think I could build better ones. I must have a go at that sometime.)
     
    So, anyway, what mods did I put in this? I've already said how I had to adapt the cab to reduce glare from the lights that I fitted. And I built one loco as an unpowered dummy car. What else did I do?
     
    Well... I like the passenger cars, but being honest, they only had four seats in them, and that really isn't many. However, I had some spare seats from the tiny, token "station" that's included in the set. So I took them and raided my bits box for some 2x2 plates.
     

     
    But I had a problem. Do you see this yellow bit on the floor towards the end of the carriage?
     

     
    That's the bogie mounting pin attached to the wheelsets. If I encroached on it the bogies wouldn't turn. What to do? What to do?
     

     
    That's right! Round plates! No encroachment and they do the same job of lifting the seat one plate's thickness off the floor.
     

     

     
    I can't put a minifigure to sit in the seats, because there's no room for their arms, which is a bit disappointing. But at least having the seats there makes it look more like an actual coach.
     
    Having two train sets meant I had two driver minifigures. I took a satchel off one of the passengers minifgures and put it on the driver. I think this is a passable look for a ticket inspector or guard.
     

     
    I added in some more passengers. Currently there is a woman from Ninjago City, Lester the bowler-hatted mascot of the Leicester Square flagship Lego Store, Spider-Man and C3PO from Star Wars. But it's in the buffet car where it's all kicking off with some very hungry patrons.
     

     
    Yes, that's right, baby velociraptors courtesy of some very cheap Jurassic World sets. They've got eyes on that hot dog!
  2. Jongudmund
    I've said before how I was very lucky and got given two of the Lego 60197 train sets for Christmas. This wasn't a mistake! I wanted two because I knew they would form one very nice train.
     
    I belong to some Lego trains Facebook groups. I've seen a lot of posts in the groups about putting two 60197 passenger trains together. Quite a few people have mentioned the difficulty of running both motors in sync and having to polarise one to run backwards instead of forwards, and so on. Having test run the 3-car train and seeing how fast it whips along, I really didn't see the point of putting a second motor in. So when I built the second set, I built a 'dummy' car.
     
    This started with my bag of left-over train bits from when I turned my second white passenger train (60051) into a couple of coaches to extend that train to something that looked a bit more realistic.
     

     
    I also fished out one of the instruction books from that set as it had instructions for how to build a dummy bogie to replace the all-in-one motor block that Lego use.
     

     
    In the end I built this dummy bogie and move the yellow connection plate two studs inwards from the couplings to make it fit in the right mounting hole.
     

     

     
    This isn't a like-for-like replacement for the drive bogie on the powered engine, because I couldn't fit the axle-boxes that are used on the motor's driving wheels. They don't fit over ordinary wheelsets.
     

     
    It's not the end of the world because you;d only be able to see that if you know where to look.
     
    One of the other issues was the bluetooth battery box. This forms an integral part of the train structure, but I wanted to keep it separate for use in another project. A quick rummage in the bag of spare bits pictured earlier, and I built a replacement to the same dimensions.
     

     
    This next photo shows how I followed the instructions using the ersatz battery box.
     

     
    And then one final change... red lights on the back.
     

     
    These don't light up, unfortunately. It would be difficult to run a wire the length of the train. But I might experiment with a freestanding light brick at some point.
     
    Now, if you can stand terrible shaky filming on a mobile phone, and you have 1 minute and 37 seconds to spare, here is a video showing the train running, switching the lights on, "night running", and a little review of the interiors of the coaches.
     
    https://youtu.be/wiTx_o7pKh8
     
    Thanks for reading!
  3. Jongudmund
    In my previous post I talked about how my wife and brother took advantage of Black Friday deals to each buy me a train set. So, I knew these were coming (that was a long 5 week wait until Christmas Day!) and so I went into the Lego store and bought a set of train lights that are compatible with the new Powered Up motive system. These are a bit expensive for what you get, but are fun to fit and really enhance the train.
     
    Here's what you get for your money:
     

     

     
    The cab interior is built to accommodate the after-market addition. The grey bars sticking out either side of the seat are there to run the wires under.
     

     
    The lights plug into the pin holes in the Technic brick at the front of the cab. You can see from these pictures how the wires go behind the driver's seat and plug into the secondary outlet from the bluetooth battery box. This means you can turn the lights on and off independently while the train is in motion or keep them on when it is at rest.
     

     

     
    Unfortunately when they were in there was a lot of internal cab glare. You can see the problem in this photo.
     

     
    It had a very simple solution - probably the easiest 'mod' I've ever done.
     

     
    And here is an 18 second video showing the train doing circuits with the lights on. I feel it brings a whole new character to the train.
     
    https://youtu.be/LbV-Q-PfQjk
  4. Jongudmund
    Happy 2019!
     
    I had a great Christmas. You know what's better than getting a Lego train for Christmas?
     
    Getting two!
     

     
    Thanks to my wife and my brother getting some Black Friday deals, I was a very lucky boy.
     
    The set comes in multiple bags, as per usual. You also get a loop of track with only 4 straight pieces. It's practically a circle.
    l

     
    What's new about this is the Powered Up system, which operates on bluetooth instead of infra-red. The main functionality is contained in the battery box, which has a built in bluetooth receiver rather than using a separate IR receiver. Everything runs off AAA batteries as well, making it lighter than the Power Functions system my other trains use.
     
    I learned all this building the first part of the train - the powered loco.
     

     

     
    I like the styling of this train and it feels much better designed than the white passenger train. The cab is much easier to access.
     

     
    The battery box is built into the design and is also very easy to access compared to other trains.
     

     

     
    The two coaches are a buffet car and a passenger car. The buffet car has a small serving area complete with coffee maker.
     

     
    As it's a passenger train, it comes with a passenger.
     

     
    She's packed Lego for her trip.
     

     
    And her case fits into a neat little luggage rack between the set of seats. It's a good thing she's the only passenger with luggage.
     

     
    The set also comes with a massively underwhelming platform.
     

     

     
    Maybe I should have put the sticker on the panel, but I don't think it would have made it look any better. I left it off because I might use the panel elsewhere.
     
    Also in that bag was a traffic signal. It's not the most exciting thing, but hey, better than nothing.
     

     
    I have got some video and overall pictures of the train - I will sort those for another post. Having two sets means I could create a six car train, rather than a 3 car train. But the 3 car train whips along.
     
    Overall verdict
     
    Pros
    A very nice-looking train set.
    Much better design than some of the previous ones. No holes in the floor, easy access to the batteries and to the cab, it honestly feels like Lego have taken some real care over this set.
    Buffet car interior is fun. Loved the coffee machine detail.
    Passenger luggage complete with Lego set made me laugh.
    Powered Up is a much nicer system and worked with absolutely no glitches. The battery box is nicer than the Power Functions one that it replaced. Not having to make room for an IR receiver is helpful, as that always had to 'poke out' of the top of a train using Power Functions.
    The motor is, if anything, overpowered for the contents of the box. it pulls a six car train with no bother to a scale speed of at least 100 mph.
     
    Cons
    The passenger station is just a token gesture.
    Limited seats - 4 in the carriage. This is not mass transit at all.
    No working doors anywhere. You can take the roof off to place people inside. And they can't get out once you put the roof back on, bwahahahaha.
    Stickers. The front of the cab and the rear of the power car have large stickers. They're not too annoying to place. I just have a thing about sets with an RRP over £100 coming with stickers.
  5. Jongudmund
    I realise I haven't kept this blog up to date as I have acquired bits and pieces for the railway. Never mind, let's start with my latest acquisition, which all started with the news that Toys R Us has gone bust meaning I was left with a useless Gold Card from the store.
     

     
    Useless, I thought until Smyth's Toys offered any Gold Card holder the chance of 20% off any purchases if they handed in their Gold Card. Off I went to Smyth's Toys. I bought, um, let's just say a few things, and one of them was another set of 65001, the white passenger train.
     

     
    Last time I posted about this I said it was a bit of a disappointing set and yet here I am with a second one. Well, I had my reasons. Firstly, I wanted a power functions set up for my Christmas train and this is one of the cheapest ways to get the motor, battery box and controller. Secondly, as noted in my previous post, the three car train is a bit lightweight, meaning it derailed easily, and it was too short to look satisfyingly like a train.
     
    There are enough parts in the box to make two carriages, with about 4 parts substituted and 7 very small bits added from my spares boxes.
     

     
    I was very pleased with that and think that bringing it up to a five carriage train makes it look much better. I set up a test loop on the living room floor and the extra weight of the carriages keeps it firmly on the track.
     

     
    Even though I have professed to having more interest in the freight trains, I am now thinking about building a station. That's my next project, maybe. In the meantime I will dig out some other photos of things I have been working on in the past year. Thanks for reading.
  6. Jongudmund
    Having a train table (at last) meant I could finally get out most of my stock and run it. I found out there was just enough internal space in the loop to try something I had been planning for a while - doubling the length of the yellow gantry crane that came in my very first train set (60052).
     
    Here's a reminder what it looked like.
     

     
    It's been in a few of my posts recently, but this is the first time I have actually focused on it as part of the lay out. Some time ago I bought more of the yellow support girders and the guide rails with the idea of extending the length. I actually bought one more girder than I needed, so closed the gaps between them slightly. I also chose to mount them on some old 32x32 stud road baseplates so that the crane went over the road as well. Road vehicles had somewhere more realistic to sit while waiting to be loaded up.
     

     

     
    Here is the reverse view as if looking across the tracks with the road on the other side.
     

     

     
    I mentioned in my review of the Heavy Haul train set that I already had one of the blue cranes from that set, although it had been repurposed slightly. The story starts with this fun vehicle that I bought on special offer in a supermarket, mainly because I saw the potential of the tracked base. It is part of the 'Volcano Explorers' line, but in this photo is drilling into a 'Pick a Brick' cup from the Lego Store.
     

     
    Without the bright yellow jackhammer drill bit, the potential for a trackside vehicle is obvious.
     

     
    First I did a 'proof of concept' test - would the blue crane cab fit on the back and would it look any good?
     

     

     
    I thought the results were positive, so I went ahead and swapped out the off-lime green pieces that are a feature of the Volcano sets. I had to use a yellow roof piece as I didn't have a blue one, but I think it works.
     

     

     
    I'm planning to use this crane in some kind of trackside loading facility, probably loading 'gravel' onto the grey minerals wagons I have built.
     
    In the photos of the yellow gantry train in action there are two forklift trucks. The red one came from the 60052 Cargo Train set. The green one came from this set in the Lego Superheroes range, that I spotted for half price and asked my foster sister to buy me for my birthday. (I know this is cheeky, but she's one of the people who always asks me what I want so she would prefer me to tell her.)
     

     
    In that photo you can see some unused Lexcorp stickers. I left them off the sides of the forklift because I wanted to use it on the lay out. I'm not a big fan of stickers generally, preferring printed pieces, but I admit it is handy when you can choose not to use them.
     
    I didn't need the forklift to be weaponised, so removed the "flick missiles" from the side of the forklift. (They don't work anyway.) It's a perfectly acceptable model and I think it looks as good as the one that came in the train set.
     

     
    On the pictures of the yellow crane you may have also seen the buffer stops. Lego don't include a buffer stop in any of their current sets so you have to build your own. Mine are very simple and could probably use a bit more design work. I've seen some very accurate looking ones on the web.
     
    This was my first attempt, showing a built one and parts to build a second.
     

     
    I took out the wide central post, sacrificing stability for something that looked a bit better.
     

     
    I then realised that mounting the buffer stops on a piece of the 'flex track' would have it's advantages. The flex track isn't particularly good for much, except giving you an extra half a track length here and there on the lay out. Mounting the buffers on flex track added a little bit of length to the sidings (always a plus!), and meant the buffer stops could be moved and handled as a unit, mounted onto the track. This meant they were much less likely to dissolve into a handful of parts if I was trying to more them. I could also add the flex track piece to a curved piece to end a curving siding and it would look OK.
     

     

     

     
    That's all for now. Thanks for reading my blog post.
  7. Jongudmund
    A big shout out to Jack, who responded to my wanted advert here on RM Web to offer me two older Lego sets dating from the mid-noughties, which are now highly collectible. Jack kindly built the sets to check they were (almost) complete, then took them completely apart so I had the pleasure of building them myself. He also sent me a quantity of old 9 volt track. I can now set up an extended run for my 9 volt train that is sat in the Lego cupboard.
     

     
    The sets were the TTX Intermodal Container Wagons from 2005 and the large Octan tanker wagon released as part of the 'My Own Train' range in 2001.
     
    The TTX is actually an articulated wagon with two cars sharing a central bogie.
     

     
    The containers themselves are a bit small, but they stack, just like the real thing.
     

     

     
    The Octan tanker had two integral pieces missing, both easily replaced from the spares stock. I turned round the 'fence' ends to make it look less continental. It's also missing the tiny valve wheels it's supposed to have on each end of the tanker. But those looked a bit silly anyway so I haven't bothered replacing them.
     

     

     
    Compared to the other Octan wagons I have, this is a good deal bigger. The smaller wagons have fixed single axle wheels, whereas this has the rotating double axle set up common on bigger wagons.
     

     
    It will look OK in a train, perhaps as the first wagon followed by the three smaller ones.
     
    Back in January I acquired another wagon, this time from eBay. It's a box car wagon from the 7898 freight set (the same set the red tipper wagon came in). It's a very light wagon, despite being brick-built. I feel it offers a different profile for a train, so am very pleased with it.
     

     

     
    With one roof panel piece removed and the addition of a friendly Duplo character it makes a Triang-esque giraffe car!
     

     
    (Spoiler alert!) My next post will be about cranes and buffer stops.
  8. Jongudmund
    I know this follows hard on the heels of a previous set review, but there were about six months between purchases. I'm not just running out and buying sets. This is the third set I've bought, having started the whole thing with the 60052 Cargo Train Set.
     
    (To address the obvious question, did I need another train set? Not really, but this set is disappearing from the shelves in most stores. It had a 20% discount and my lovely wife said she thought I deserved a reward for working hard on my MSc Dissertation when I got my results a few weeks ago.)
     
    I don't have the usual box pic to start, so I'm just going to get straight on with the build.
     
    First up, the loco. This is in red and comes with the usual Lego power functions control set up.
     

     
    The starting point is a grey 28 stud base, exactly as in the Passenger train set.
     

     
    I had some help from two little guys during the byuild
     

     

     

     

     
    The cab swings up to get the train driver in. This is yet another train with no working doors.
     

     
    And here is a shot of the engine on the lay out.
     

     
    The most exciting wagon in the set is the brown hopper wagon. I built this next.
     

     

     
    I felt the hopper had a prototypical feel. It looks like it could be used in a genuine industry. This may be why it is commanding a decent price on the aftermarket.
     
    The other wagons were incredibly basic, with most of the building being the "loads". First there was a helicopter transporter wagon, which had a bit of an underframe, but otherwise was mainly a rather basic helicopter in a bag.
     

     
    You can see how the wagon itself offered a very small technical challenge.
     

     
    I was actually quite disappointed with the helicopter. It looks very low-definition and blocky compared to most City sets. A friend described it as the kind of Lego set that would be a "giveaway" in a newspaper and that does about sum it up.
     
    The next wagon was even more basic. A 28 stud base and two bogie sets and a backhoe to go on top of it. The backhoe at least could serve some use as lineside ornamentation. It has a 70s JCB feel to it.
     

     

     
    Both the helicopter wagon and the backhoe wagon are likely to get upcycled into different wagons, a bit like the cattle wagons (now minerals wagons) and the blue wagon (now a car transporter) from 60052.
     
    The whole set suffers from 'mixed freight' syndrome as per the other Lego cargo set. I can understand Lego doing that as this is a toy marketed mainly at children, similar to Hornby starter sets. However I feel the contrast between the quality of the hopper wagon and the other wagons lets it down a bit.
     

     
    The other contents of the set were a long loop of track, a blue loading scoop crane and a small pedestrian crossing set. I'd already purchased and built a blue crane, so the new one is sat in its bags. I will build it at some point, especially as I have re-used the other one in a mash-up to create a mobile crane. The blue crane is a great build and looks very nice so that is definitely a point in favour of this set.
     
    The verdict
     
    Pros
    The red loco looks really nice. I think it looks a bit more UK prototype than the other cargo train.
    The hopper wagon is very nicely made and I can see why people would want to acquire more of them. (I do too!)
    The blue crane was a great build when I bought one from a re-seller. I'm looking forward to building another one.
    I really like the 'hard hat area' sign in the blue crane set. That's useful in an industrial railway setting.
    A useful source of parts for building other wagons.
    The JCB-esque backhoe could feature in a permanent way yard.
    A long loop of track and none of the 'flexible track' pieces.
    The track crossing signs could also be useful.
     
    Cons
    Two very simple wagons let the set down.
    The helicopter included as a wagon load is beyond basic. I can't really see a use for it anywhere on the lay out.
    No points (switches) in the set, so not much of a challenge operationally.
     
    So overall, the good aspects of the set outweigh the slightly disappointing bits. Having 20% off RRP made it more worthwhile in my opinion.
     
    What next?
    I need to build the blue crane. Originally I planned to use the blue crane in a scrapyard setting, but now I wonder if a permanent way yard would be better with ballast to load into hopper wagons. That may mean acquiring more hopper wagons...
  9. Jongudmund
    Back in October I took a trip to Toys R Us. A combination of money off, an additional voucher and a freebie Lego set if I spent over a certain amount saw me come home with a 60051 white passenger train set.
     

     
    (Geoffrey the Toys R Us mascot was the freebie.)
     
    In the box was a loop of track, the power functions kits and 7 bags of Lego parts.
     

     
    The train is built on three identical gray modified plates. They are 28 studs long and have holes in so they can be used with motors and the wires can get in and out.
     

     
    I started with the central coach. A flaw became apparent when building it, as there are no doors. How will the Lego minifigures get in?!?
     

     
    Also, with shocking disregard for passenger safety, nothing was done to cover up the holes in the floor. (Maybe that's how the minifigures get in!)
     

     
    But the finished coach looked OK, even if it was a bit short. It looks more like the length of a tram or street metro train.
     

     
    The roof comes off so you can put the passengers in.
     

     
    I then built the motorised engine and the dummy rear car. I either didn't take photos of the build in progress or I have lost the pictures. Still, here's a photo of the full train sitting on the current track set up.
     

     
    In the overhead shot you can see the pantographs. I'm not going to build Lego catenary.
     

     
    I don't have a passenger station. One is included in the set but it's laughably small and the ungated railway crossing looks very unsafe.
     

     
    The verdict
     
    Pros
     
    I got this set much reduced and it was a good size collection of parts.
    It's a cheap way to get the power functions motor and set up
    The train looks fairly sleek and modern
     
    Cons
    Not a very interesting build. A lot of the parts are the same and the build got repetitive.
    No doors and holes in the floor seem slightly careless design flaws.
    The moulded nose cones are tricky to fit and have limited alternative uses.
    Because of the moulded nose cones there are only four sets of buffers in the set, making it less of a resource for freelance building than other sets.
    The "station" is barely a halt. It looks more like a bus stop.
    The train is very light, meaning it flies off the corners way before it reaches top speed.
     
    So, overall, I'm glad I got the set but I'm glad I got it reduced and didn't pay anywhere near the original RRP. I was slightly disappointed in it.
     
    What next?
    I have seen people insert extra coaches into the train to make it longer, or even merge two coaches to make longer, more prototypical coaches. However the longer ones have extreme overhang on the tight Lego corners. I am more interested in freight trains, so plan to keep this just for a bit of variety and to run something different occasionally. When I get bored of wagons I might come back and modify it or build a station for it.
  10. Jongudmund
    I mentioned at the end of my previous post that I have acquired a table for my hobbies, including Lego. Actually, my wife found it being offered free to a good home on Facebook.
     

     
    In preparation for the table arriving I had a play around with the Lego train track I had in a box. I knew the basic loop measurements from a box was about 10cms less in either direction than the table measurements, so I laid it out.
     

     
    I quickly realised the size wouldn't allow for sidings outside the loop, so I began to experiment with a proper train set style inner sidings set up.
     

     
    I placed on the Octan oil holding tank to see how that would look.
     

     
    I could get a bit of extra space if I curved the siding, which would also help when I got round to building the unloading pipes.
     

     
    I changed the upper siding to add in an extra length as well.
     

     
    The table arrived!
     
    I put the basic track on it to double check it fitted. It did.
     

     
    My blue cargo train 60052 was the first train I ran on the loop. I also filled all the sidings with stock. I think the Octan wagons look really good next to the holding tank.
     

     

     
    The gantry crane is a double length version of the crane that came in the 60052 set. I extended it and mounted it on the road plates, which I think works very effectively.
     

     
    You can see the length in this picture
     

     
    It's also important to provide facilities for the workers! (This loo is from one of the construction workers sets in the City range)
     

     
    And a final shot of the container crane siding. Yes! That is a wagon I haven't told you about yet.
     

     
    As you can see in these photos there are a few new wagons and I have another surprise for you as well - the next blog post will be a rolling stock update. There is lots to include.
  11. Jongudmund
    About six months ago I blogged about building an oil depot tank for the Lego railway. Six months later (and one MSc dissertation out the way) I have finally sorted out the missing roof and I'm quite pleased with the result.
     
    Here's a picture of the tank getting 'plated up'. You can see the Technic frame holding the plates in place.
     

     
    Now I needed a roof. It's hard to build in circles using Lego , but then I hit on an idea using 'A frame' pieces.
     

     
    These enabled me to create a 'star' that fitted nicely resting on the uppermost circle of Technic rods.
     

     

     
    My plan was then to fill in the gaps using plates. Easier said than done as the studs didn't line up on the rays of the star that were at 45 degree angles to each other. I tried several experiments with shaped roof plates.
     

     

     
    And then tried to build it with offset plates that would only be connected to four of the rays. But this didn't work either.
     

     
    So I went old school. I got a load of long Technic bricks and connected them sideways using black Technic connector pins. This creates an incredibly strong structure, like a sheet of bricks welded together.
     

     
    I then plated over most of the Technic bricks, leaving a few exposed as I thought it gave a nice effect.
     

     
    I was pleased with the complete structure. It looks round enough to work and is suitably imposing to look like a real industrial structure.
     

     
    And here is what it look like in situ on a roundy-roundy loop lay out that I was mocking up in readiness for having a table to put the trains on.
     

     
    I still need to create an unloading system and I want to put a ladder up it, but I've been a bit distracted by having the table and actually being able to set the trains up and get them running. More on that very soon!
  12. Jongudmund
    Hello everyone. You won't see this on my freight yard train set when I eventually set it up, but this year the wife and I bought ourselves the Christmas train set for our Lego Christmas decoration shelf. If I get the chance I will post some more pics after Christmas. In the meantime I hope everyone has a very blessed Christmas and an enjoyable New Year!
     

  13. Jongudmund
    This was a bit of a diversion for me as I have been a bit too busy to build recently. I've also stalled on the oil depot. (I plan to pick that project back up after Christmas.)
     
    But anyway, back in April I repurposed some poorly designed cattle wagons into scrap-carrying wagons. This is what they looked like:
     

     
    I have recently joined a Facebook group about Lego trains and I saw someone had built an open gondola wagon that used inverted panels for the sides of the wagon. The panels have little edges, which means they seem to have little ribs, much like industrial hoppers or gondolas have in the real world. I went and had a look in my boxes of bits, which included quite a few pieces from some Star Wars Imperial Troop Carrier sets that I had bought a while ago for the Stormtrooper mini-figures when the sets were on sale. (I've built one of the troop carriers, but two stayed in bits.)
     
    I stripped the fencing-style edges off the scrap wagons and used the panels I had to try out how the wagon could look.
     

     
    I felt the wedge plates on the end looked good. I also tried it with some inverted slopes out of the troop carrier sets. I didn't take a photo of that experiment but decided it would be the way forward. I realised I needed more parts and so placed an order on Bricklink.com. I used the Wants List system on Bricklink, listing the parts I needed and then finding one dealer who had all of them in stock. Then came the long, slow wait for a box of Lego bits to be delivered...
     

     
    (I added in the train employee to boost it over the minimum order limit. He'll be working in my freight yard soon enough. The brown supports will also be useful somewhere.)
     
    I ordered a mix of panel sizes to see which ones worked out better - one wagon has the short panels (2 bricks high) and one has the large ones (3 bricks high).
     

     

     
    The wedge plates give the ends a bit of definition and look like the kind of reinforcing a wagon end might need.
     

     
    Unloading could b difficult so I have added doors in the middle of the wagons.
     

     
    There are a couple of things I'm not really sure about. I like the inverted slopes as 'ribs' but the width of the tiles used on the top of the wagon puts the panels into shadow. I could use thinner tiles, I suppose and maybe have smaller doors. In which case I need to buy some more panels.
     
    I also wasn't sure if the short panels worked on top of the 1x4 brick with a line, so I swapped them round. I like this version more but it's still not ideal.
     

     
    You can see the width of the tiles on the top of the wagon in this final photo. In real life the wagons look alright, but I will probably end up changing these tiles.
     

     
    So, in conclusion, these were a fun build and I am reasonably pleased with them. I think I will revisit the issue of the upper tiles though. The 3 brick high panels look a bit better to me, so I might order more of them and replace the 2 brick high panels. I might also look to build a longer gondola similar to the one I saw in the original photo that inspired these.
     
    As ever, thanks for reading and have a happy Christmas!
  14. Jongudmund
    The first thing I did when I had my Lego train set was acquire some tanker wagons, but I don't have anywhere for them to visit, unlike my car transporter wagon loading dock or cranes. I have decided to build an oil tank for them to discharge their cargo. It will be a transfer station with road access for Lego tanker lorries to fill up and take off into the city.
     
    But oil tanks are generally roundish, and Lego is, well, blocky. So this proved a bit of a snag. I'd seen oil tanks at the Brick Planet exhibition in Woodhorn Colliery Museum back in 2015. They were on an airfield and I thought they were very effective.
     

     
    This looks really good, but they are brick built and still a tiny bit blocky when you get up close. I was considering other options when I discovered a Star Wars Lego set on eBay that included a "ring".
     

     
    The Jedi Starfighters in Star Wars Episodes 2 and 3 don't have hyperdrives, so move from system to system using these rings that have hyperdrive engines fitted to them. They then park the ring somewhere safe and fly into the system. Obviously I didn't need the hyperdrive engine bits. But the basic ring looked really interesting. The Lego Group have PDFs of instruction manuals for all their kits on their website, so I downloaded the manual and had a look. Inside it showed how the ring was constructed.
     

     

     
    I had a few of the relevant pieces but needed a lot more, so I put in an order to Bricklink, a website where you can order Lego bits. They duly arrived...
     

     
    And I built a frame structure for the tank.
     

     
    The attached plates are 24 studs long and show how a 16-side tank can be quite easily created. It's not perfectly round, but in this scale it's round enough. It will also dwarf Lego figures and look about right in terms of scale.
     
    I decided I wanted to make it in Octan colours, which are white with a red and green stripe. The tanks I saw in Woodhorn had the Octan logo on the side and that looked impressive, but I must admit this felt a slightly easier option.
     

     
    This is what the internal bracing looks like, for reference.
     

     
    But now I needed some white plates. I worked out I would need 80 6x4 plates to complete the tank and started looking at Bricklink to see how much that would cost. I also needed red and green plates to make the stripe. Then, however, I had a stroke of luck. Visiting my local Lego Shop I found they had white 4x6 plates in the 'pick and build' wall, which is like a pick and mix Lego feature they have at the back of the store. I could fit the 80 plates (plus a few spares) in one of the large tubs (along with a few other bits).
     

     
    (The drilling machine helping to open the pick and build cup is another recent acquisition. It's in the 'volcano explorers' range. I'm planning on modifying it into a slightly more prototypical tracked industrial vehicle. It is a really nice machine though and was great fun to build.)
     
    And this, for the record, is what 80 plates looks like just before you stick them on the sides of an oil tank.
     

     
    I will show you what it looks like now in my next blog post. Thanks for reading!
  15. Jongudmund
    I have put a load of posts up on here about this MOC car transporter wagon, but in the last couple of months I have been tweaking it and it's now quite a different animal. I have also ordered my first ever parts off Bricklink, a very useful Lego website. I'm quite pleased now with the finished (ha ha ha) result. This is a collection of 20 photos to show the end stages of the project. (I've put the photos on quite small. If you want to see a bigger version just message me.)
     
    First off, the top deck. This was based on the car transporter lorry I bought earlier this year and was too heavy with Lego plates under the ladders that were being used for ramps.
     

     
    I stripped all the plates back to produce a framework only top deck that looked a lot lighter, more prototypical and could still carry cars. It's a little bit flimsier but I just need to be careful.
     

     
    I then decided to work on the ramps.
     

     
    They looked blocky and didn't line up well.
     

     
    I also decided I didn't like the chassis. The long Technic beams with stud-holes worked but they lacked finesse. They also made the wagon taller than I felt it needed to be.
     

     
    I decided to experiment and see what I could come up with instead.
     

     
    I'd also been working on the loading dock that I mentioned a few posts ago. I used the office building from the crane I got in my original train set and mounted it next to the ramp. I really liked the barrier so kept it.
     

     
    I also added some buffer stops. (These have now changed.)
     

     
    On Bricklink I found some moulded ramps I never knew existed. I ordered four. When they arrived I realised they were huge and I would only need two. I also ordered a load of other bits that I thought might be helpful and/or fun.
     

     
    I tried the new ramps on 'outward'.
     

     
    That didn't work. I reversed them.
     

     
    The problem was the moulded angle in the ramp was too steep to drive a car over. I switched to some of the other pieces I'd ordered.
     

     
    These fitted and with a little tweak were the perfect height for the loading dock.
     

     
    Cars could be driven on quite easily now.
     

     
    Right up on to the top deck.
     

     
    I now had a new worry - clearances. I felt the buffers needed to be clear of the ramps. I extended them by inserting a 1x6 Technic beam into the bogie between the buffers and the wheels. This actually give the buffers a bit more depth.
     

     
    I made a few more orders from Bricklink. I had a number of different colours on the wagon. I'd changed the red connectors for yellow, but I still had some green hinges on the ramps. Those parts were available in yellow for pennies on Bricklink, so I swapped them out. I also ordered a control panel for the side, which the freight yard staff could use to raise the top deck. (The arrow is pointing at it.) Again this cost a few pence. I've seen it as a remote control for a small submersible in a deep sea diving set.
     

     
    I still wasn't happy though. The undercarriage now looked a bit odd and I didn't like the way the control panel extruded from the side of the wagon (you can't really see it in this pictures but it bugged me).
     
    Time for a change, and off came the undercarriage.
     

     
    I attached an angle bracket in the undercarriage cavity in such away that the control panel, wagonworks logo and pressure gauge now sit flush with the edge. They are also at a much more convenient height for the staff!
     

     
    I think this looks pretty good and I'm very happy with it.
     

     
    And that is it. I think this is pretty much unrecognisable from the original boring wagon I started with. At some point I may take some more photos of it being used to move some cars around. But I think it's time I moved on from this project and I'm sure you all agree.
  16. Jongudmund
    I mentioned last time how I had purchased a red tipper wagon, which originally came in set number 7898. It's a lovely wagon, but it had one odd aspect, clips on either end to hold minifigure utensils.
     
    This included a spade at one end.
     

     
    And a broom at the other.
     

     
    While I'm sure these would be handy for freight yard staff, it was very unlikely you would send a wagon out with tools on like this. They're easily nickable. And if you had a rake of wagons like this would you really need a broom and a spade on each one? Probably not.
     
    I had a think and a look in the bits box and found two red modified bricks with lines on the side.
     

     
    I think taking the grey clip blocks out and replacing them makes the wagon look a bit better.
     

     
    I also took some pictures of the 'play feature'. The tipper sides move up to drop the load out onto the side of the track.
     

     
    There's a lot of movement available in the side door. I'm not sure the complete flip is at all prototypical.
     

     
    More photos of the car transporter wagon coming soon! It has been through a complete rebuild and now has its own loading dock.
  17. Jongudmund
    Here's the latest arrival from Ebayland - a tipper wagon from the 7898 Deluxe Cargo Train set. This was for sale on its own with an option to make an offer. I made an offer and it's now the ninth wagon in my growing manifest.
     

     
    The Lego is pristine. The sides move up to unload the cargo. I'll get some 'action shots' at some point. I'm going to use it in my scrap metal train so have fished out some Technic/Bionicle sprues to fill the hopper. I'm not sure what the lettering on the under-sill is meant to mean. It looks vaguely continental.
     
    As a bonus when it arrived it had been built incorrectly, so I had to take it apart slightly and 'fix' it. Yay.
  18. Jongudmund
    I've had this Lego set (number 4561) a long time. It was produced in 1999 and ran off powered 9V track. Lego dispensed with powered track and in the mid-noughties, switching to battery-powered, radio controlled trains. It's a great set and was very fun to build.
     

     

     
    I had two reasons for digging this set out from my store cupboard of Lego sets. The first was to check the compatibility of the buffers. Lego used to use mounted magnets, but on the RC trains they brought in a new all-in-one coupling unit. You can see the differences here:
     

     
    I wanted to check the old and new buffers would work together as I've been tempted to buy some older rolling stock to run with my trains. The good news is they fit together nicely.
     

     
    The other thing I wanted to have a closer look at was this ramp that was included in the set.
     

     

     
    I have plans for this and all will be revealed soon.
     
    Also in set 4561 was this train spotter. I like him.
     

  19. Jongudmund
    At the end of my previous post I mentioned a new arrival. It came in the post from an eBay supplier, partially deconstructed. (Makes it easier to post and more fun to receive as you have to do a bit of building.)
     
    It's the container wagon from the cargo train set 7939.
     

     
    The container comes off, leaving a nice flat wagon that would make a good barrier wagon if one was ever needed.
     

     
    The profile shot below shows how elegant this is. I said before that the train set I bought (60052) had fairly uninspiring wagons. Based on this and the tanker wagons, 7939 had a better array of cargo trucks.
     

     
    I thought it would be fun to add a round up of my rolling stock manifest. I have one loco and eight wagons and here they are...
     
    Locomotive 60052 (as built from set 60052)
     

     
    A front view of this battery powered, radio control loco.
     

     
    Container wagon [pictured above] (as built from set 7939)
     
    Flat wagon with cable drum load (as built from set 60052)
     

     
    3 x Octan Oil Tanker wagons (modified version of wagons from set 7939)
     

     
    2 x cattle wagons, repurposed as scrap wagons (base wagon as built from set 60052)
     

     
    Car Transporter Wagon (MOC, based on wagon chassis from set 60052)
     

  20. Jongudmund
    I said last time that the final version of the car transporter probably wasn't final because the ramps weren't right. So I went back to them. This was the starting point. (I put the transporter next to another wagon to compare the height.)
     

     
    But first I also needed two more cars to load onto the transporter. I mentioned this to my wife, Cathy, who went and had a rummage in the Lego boxes and dug out this fire chief's car that she had bought a while ago and not got round to building yet.
     

     
    It was ideal as it was the right width and looked the right length. As a general rule I tend to build things at least once the way it's meant to be. Then take it apart. I duly built it.
     

     
    You can see how by not putting on the stickers and taking the light off the roof it could easily pass as a regular car. However, there was a problem. It was a bit long.
     

     

     
    It was also too high. The transporter fits convertible cars. The roof had to go. Out came the bits boxes and I rebuilt the back end as well. I also gave it doors from the bits box.
     

     
    The tan bumpers were from the bits box. I dumped them and gave the car some killer exhausts as well.
     

     
    The other donor car was a Lego Friends animal ambulance that I had picked up super cheap in a supermarket a couple of months ago (mainly because it had a Lego hedgehog in).
     

     
    I quite like the Friends kits as they have a different colour palette to most other sets. I had thought when buying it that the bits might be useful. Now I was looking at those pale blue wheel arches thinking, yeah, that could work.
     

     
    I'm not quite sure what the rear assembly on the white car was meant to be, but I liked the look of it. The windscreen is the rear window from the fire chief's car.
     
    I tried all 4 cars on the transporter. They fitted and I was pleased with how it looked.
     

     
    However, the rear assembly on the white car meant it didn't fit on the lower deck, so I had to junk it. Probably for the best.
     

     
    I mentioned 'greebling' in my last post. I had some ideas for adding detail along the sides of the wagon using half-length Technic pins, grills and things. I also identified some new pieces to make the hinges.
     

     
    The 1x1 printed tile is a spare piece from a Nexo Knights set I got given as a birthday present and I thought it would make a nice 'maker's mark' for whichever wagon works made this. Unfortunately, the greebling interfered with the elevator rods preventing them from laying flat when the top deck was collapsed, so I had to scrap this idea. The 1x1 tile worked, though and you can see it in the photo below. Even better, the hinges worked, closing up the gap when the ramps were dropped. I had to mount them differently on either end, but the wagon is asymmetrical anyway, so that didn't matter.
     

     
    In this photo you can see there isn't much of a gap now for the cars to drive over to get off the ramps.
     

     
    So, I am finally happy with this. The ramps work. The top deck lays as flat as possible. I may go back to tinker with the white car at some point, or replace it if a cheap set with a 4-stud wide car comes available, but there is no rush for that.
     
    Thanks for reading these blog posts. I hope you enjoyed them. I have a couple more to come including news of a new addition to the rolling stock manifest.
  21. Jongudmund
    This is the third blog entry about building a car transporter for my Lego train. The first attempt ended with a model that worked but was too wide and ungainly with an over-sized top deck. So, back to the building board.
     
    The first thing I did was remove the upper deck and rebuild it. The ladders that are being used as runners for the cars slide into each other so I overlapped them by four studs. This also meant adding another layer of plates at one end to fill the difference in height between the lower ladder and the overlapping one. I rebuilt the deck to 28 studs long - the same length as the wagon base. I then swapped out the modified plates with Technic pin holes I had been using underneath the top desk for the red ones I had been using on the lower deck and strengthened the structure with some more red plates from the spares supply.
     

     
    Having used the red mountings on the upper level, I now needed to find a way of attaching the rods to the lower level. I decided what I needed to do was build a new layer on the wagon base comprised of Technic beams, blocks and plates from the spares supply.
     

     
    You can see here how I have attached the on-off ramps using the yellow 'handles' that came off both the wagon and the transporter.
     

     
    With a gap in the middle I needed to check the spacing.
     

     
    A downside to Technic beams are the rows of holes in the sides. Fortunately I know a way of hiding these. By using short Technic mounts you can attach other pieces perpendicular to the beam. I chose Lego Space U-beams from the spares supply. Adding detail like this is often called 'greebling' but in this case I realised after I'd put them on that these would make handy tie-bars to help secure the cars when they were on the wagon. So, if anyone asks, they're tie-bars and that was the plan all along. After I took this photo I realised they would interfere with the support mounts when the upper level was dropped so I inverted them.
     

     
    I added the top layer. You can see quite clearly here how the ladders overlap.
     

     
    The pressure sensor halfway along is supposed to be a weight gauge or something similar. It's attached using a short pin like the blue tie-bars. Sets that contain pieces like this often have a spare in, which is how this ended up in my spares box.
     

     
    I then tested the spacing on the upper level. The two cars fitted neatly.
     

     
    I checked the cars still fitted on the lower level as well.
     

     
    I wasn't particularly happy with the wagon ends. I had attached the wagon ends pieces as 'gates' using hinges so they could swing out to let the cars on or off. However, this added two studs to the length of the wagon, leading to overhang problems again, the hinges weren't stiff enough to keep the gates closed, and above all it didn't look right. So I took the top deck off and used different hinges (again from the spares supply) to add small ramps using plates. I also added some modified 2x1 plates with a handle at the end along the edges of the top deck to act as tie-bars for cars parked on the top.
     

     
    The new ramps weren't perfect but they looked better and were functional, so at this point I think the wagon is done. (Who am I kidding, I'm going to fiddle with these!)
     

     
    However, even though this is done (fiddling notwithstanding), it has also put me in mind to hunt out two more cars to fill those gaps. A full transporter wagon will look pretty good I think.
     
    Among adults who play model with Lego, there is a phrase for models like this. It's a MOC (My Own Creation). Although I did use the wagon that came in set 65002 as a base and borrowed heavily from the car transporter kit as a source of parts, I like to think I put enough work into getting this right to call it a MOC. I'm looking forward to seeing my cargo train pulling it around the tracks.
  22. Jongudmund
    Yesterday I blogged about building a car transporter set that I bought with the intention of turning this rather dull blue wagon into something more interesting.
     

     
    The first thing to do was take off all the bits above the base plate. The little Octan tank will come in useful somewhere.
     

     
    This left a nice bare surface to start building on. For reference, this plate is 28 studs long and 6 wide. The holes in the middle are because it is also used in the model locomotive and the wires need to go through somewhere.
     

     
    Just to give a sense of the below decks engineering, here's a picture of the wagon's wheelsets. You can see how it has two free-turning bogies to enable it to cope with the sharp radii of the Lego track system.
     

     
    Relocating the transporter deck to the wagon was tricky. For starters, it meant moving the connectors out a bit as the red bases with holes for technic pins had to overhang the side of the wagon. (Hey, in the background are the cow and scrap wagons!)
     

     
    When completed this meant the transporter deck was 10 studs wide, when measured from the outer edges of the support beam mountings. The wagon base was only 6 studs wide. That's two thirds wider in real terms and would make the clearance pretty huge on corners.
     

     
    This felt even more obvious when the decks were collapsed for loading, but at least they lay flat (well, flattish).
     

     
    One plus was there was plenty of space up top for both cars. In fact, too much space, as the top deck was 32 studs long.You can also see in this view just how wide the whole mechanism was.
     

     
    The overhang on the top deck was a real problem. For one thing it looked a bit weird. For another if I ever built another of these things they couldn't be coupled together without clashing as the overhang went beyond the buffer heads. I know it's only Lego, but it just wouldn't be built like this.
     
    You can see the overhang in this photo, and also the instability on the lower deck caused by having to mask the base units for the upper deck supports.
     

     
    So, in conclusion, it was a workable model but it didn't look right and it didn't work very well. I wasn't happy with it. Somehow I was going to have to find a way to lose 4 studs from the top deck and move the supports in to the true edges of the wagon. An 8 stud wide car transporter would still be ungainly, but it would work.
     
    The great thing about Lego is you can just take it apart and put it back together again if it's not looking right. In my next blog post I will tell you all about that.
  23. Jongudmund
    At the end of my previous blog post I said I had plans for the rather boring long wagon that came in the original cargo train set (60052).
     

     
    I was prompted to use it as a 'donor' base wagon for a car transporter project by this:
     

     
    It was on special reduction in my local Asda. I saw it one evening and had a think about whether I wanted to buy it, then went back the next day and bought it. I think it's good value as the car transporter alone usually cost between £20 and £30.
     
    The other two models came boxed within the box. I plan to keep them as gifts for some of the kids I know at some point in the future.
     

     
    It's very rare I buy a Lego model and don't build the model it's supposed to be at least once. I had a good reason to do it this time as I wanted to see if the car loading mechanism was transferable to a wagon. I skipped bag 1 as I wanted to get straight on with the truck.
     
    Bag 2 is a fairly straightforward, satisfying build of the truck cab.
     

     
    Bag 3 contained the truck ramps and the trailer.
     

     
    And then I went back to bag 1, to build the cars.
     

     
    In the parts photo you can see the moulded chassis for the cars. They are 12 studs long. This turned out to be an important detail. Also in bag 1 were the minifigures.
     

     
    I particularly liked the yuppie's slicked hair. The driver's clipboard is a sticker, not a printed piece. I've already made my thoughts clear in previous posts about how stickers are a disappointing substitute.
     
    When built, the cars looked pretty nice.
     

     
    There was even space included for the yuppie's briefcase.
     

     
    I tried them out on the transporter.
     

     
    But two problems quickly became apparent. Firstly, being 12 studs long the wheels lined up badly with the circular slopes on the floor of the transporter's lower level. This led to a chronic case of 'overhang'.
     

     
    Secondly, the ramps to drive the cars up onto the transporter were too short. Which led to an insurmountable grounding problem.
     

     
    I'm surprised by this because the engineering in Lego sets is usually much better. Most of the time they design the cars to fit the space for the cars to go, but equally if they knew they were using the 12 stud chassis piece, why didn't they work out where the wheels were going to be on the floor of the transporter? It was also annoying that you couldn't drop the truck's upper level when the trailer was attached. So you would have to load up the truck first, then attach the trailer and load that up. Fine, as long as you load the cars in reverse delivery order, but any change of schedule and that would be a real bind for our delivery driver.
     
    So, there were several learning points to take from this. Firstly, the build techniques and most of the parts looked transferable to a wagon. Secondly, I'd need to make sure the car wheels weren't positioned on the top of slippery circular slopes. Thirdly, I needed to find a way to bring the top levels down together.
     
    So the next thing to do was take the car transporter apart again ready to re-use the pieces...
  24. Jongudmund
    Well, I'm back after more than six months. When I started this blog last year I talked about the train set that kicked this off. I made a throwaway remark in that opening post about turning the cattle wagon that came in the set into a wagon for scrap 'metal' (actually Lego Technic and Bionicle bits). But I didn't have any pictures of it. I then moved on to blog about tanker wagons and didn't say anything more about the newly repurposed scrap wagon.
     
    So, this post is a bit late coming. Apologies!
     
    What's prompted it is *cough* an eBay purchase of another cow wagon. I'd been meaning to get one for a while and then one finally appeared on eBay for less than £10 and, anyway, what we have here is effectively a before and after shot of the new arrival complete with cow, and the converted scrap wagon.
     

     
    You can see there in the picture how unsuitable the wagon is for transporting livestock. For one thing any cow worth it's salt would be able to jump out of there.
     
    I like the Lego cow. It's quite a friendly looking beastie.
     

     
    She also comes with a farmer to look after her. Again, not exactly true to life as putting a person in a metal cage wagon with a cow for a train journey is likely to end poorly. It's a nice mini-figure, though, complete with neatly trimmed beard.
     

     
    The cow from my original set has been absorbed into my larger collection of Lego and this one is going to go the same way, along with her hay bales, her farmer friend and his red bucket. Actually I might keep the bucket for the goods shed area I'm planning. What I need to do now is sort out another scrap load a bit like this one.
     

     
    I'm planning on using the blue crane to load and unload scrap on one of the sidings. I do have a tub somewhere of other Bionicle bits and random Lego parts that would be suitable for an industrial scrap-pile. I will fish them out shortly.
     
    Meanwhile I have another project coming using one of the other wagons from the original set. It won't look like this for long!
     

  25. Jongudmund
    So I bought a box of track in Smyth's weekend 20% sale. This stuff never gets reduced even though it's been in the Lego range in unchanged packaging since 2010 at least. So 20% was tempting.
     
    Specifically I bought Lego Set 7499 - Straight and Flexible tracks.

     
    You can see from the back how old this is. These are the train ranges from five years ago. Lego are onto their second new cargo train since then.

     
    In the box you get 8 straight pieces and sixteen flexible pieces. The straight pieces are 13.5 cm long. Four flexible pieces equate to a straight piece. They are a bit odd to look at, but my thinking is they will help in producing a freight yard layout to bring points closer together instead of the set curve pieces.
     
    Here's what the pieces look like, showing what can be done with the flexible pieces.



     
    Also in the box you get some suggested track layouts, which can be made if you buy all the long-discontinued sets available five years ago.

     
    On the other side you get a poster, which when studied in detail reveal some shocking, unsafe behaviour from the mini-figures who work on the train lines.

     
    For example, walking along the middle of a line through a point. Sensible? Hardly. Doing it with your back to a nearby train? Silly, indeed.

     
    Or how about this guy hanging off the side of a wagon? True, it's not being propelled, but what is he doing? That's an accident waiting to happen.

     
    After noticing those bozos, I decided to have a closer look at the picture on the back of the box, and sure enough, while not dangerous, this chap is hardly an exemplary worker.

     
    I hope this sort of thing only happens in Lego City and not in the real world!
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